Eating for health & testing my taste buds one bite at a time…

Night Time Snacks Under 150 Calories

So the other day I was talking with one of my fellow dietetic intern friends about practicing what we preach. The reason that this came up is because often times we say “try to avoid eating the bulk of your calories in the evening.” While I say this, and believe in doing this myself, I often find that when 8pm rolls around I am rummaging around in the refrigerator for something to eat. Easier said then done right?

That is what brought me to this post. If figured, if I do it too why not share some of the things I grab that are still relatively low in calories, and don’t leave me going to bed feeling completely stuffed, overfull, or regretful about what I just ate. If you are a night time grazer like I am, then you might find this post particularly helpful!

1. PB2 Berry Flatbread:This has been one of my favorites lately. I take 1 Flatout Multigrain with Flaxseed and cut it in half short-ways. On one half I spread on a mix of 1 Tbsp PB2 with Premium Chocolate (a powdered version of peanut butter) with a little bit of water (make it to the consistency you like; you need only a drop of water!). I then cut up about 2 strawberries into flat, circular pieces and lay them onto the PB. I fold over the other half, making it look somewhat like a quesadilla, then pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. This snack is only about 80kcal.

2. Carbmaster Yogurt with Kashi, Fruit, and Cinnamon: For this snack, I take about 6oz (about 3/4cup) of Carbmaster Vanilla Yogurt (from Kroger) and add about 1 Tbsp or a small spoonful of Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal (other lower sugar cereals would work great too!),a few frozen blueberries, and a dash of cinnamon. You could also add a spoonful of low-fat granola instead of cereal. This snack is about 120-150kcal depending on the cereal amount that you choose.

3. Dannon Light & Fit Greek with Grahams: For this snack, I take 1, 80 calorie individual container of Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Greek yogurt and crunch up 1/2 (or 2 out of the 4 rectangles) of a cinnamon graham cracker to mix in. This will cost you about 110kcal!

4. Pretzels & Hummus: I could get down on pretzels and hummus, but when I have it in the evening I try to limit myself to about 10 pretzels (15 small pretzels are typically about 110kcal) with 2 tbsp of Oasis brand hummus. This hummus runs at about 30-35 kcal/ 2 Tbsp and only has 6 ingredients (in the regular version). If you are a hummus lover, I would definitely recommend it! If you keep this to 10 pretzels, you will only reach about 80kcal. This would also be great with some raw veggies (you’d save more calories too!).

5. Peppridge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Bread & PB:This bread is so good and is only 80 calories per slice. I typically take one piece, toast it, and either add 1 tsp of reduced fat regular peanut butter or 1 Tbsp of PB2 mixed with water, and then another sprinkle of cinnamon. This snack will total between 100-130kcal depending on which peanut butter option you choose!

*Whatever snack you choose, remember this one tip: Carb + protein will provide the greatest satisfaction satiety wise. Not all of these snacks provide high amounts of protein, but they are low in calories. Depends what you are looking for, but these usually satisfy me!